Wan v BT Funds Management Limited

The matter in Wan v BT Funds Management Limited involved an appeal by the Applicant, who sought to challenge the decision of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) affirming the decision of the trustee of a superannuation fund. The Applicant claimed to be a dependant of the deceased member and sought to argue that AFCA erred in upholding the trustee's decision to distribute the death benefit to the deceased's estate rather than to her. The appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court of Australia. The central issue before the court was whether AFCA had erred in upholding the trustee's decision to distribute the deceased's superannuation death benefit to his estate rather than to the Applicant. The Applicant argued that AFCA failed to consider relevant evidence in relation to financial support and common residence. The court, however, found that AFCA had considered the evidence provided and concluded that there was no evidence to support the Applicant's claims of financial dependence or common residence with the deceased. As such, the court held that AFCA was entitled to conclude that it was fair and reasonable for the trustee to distribute the death benefit to the deceased's estate.

The court dismissed the appeal and ordered that the Applicant pay the costs of the Third Respondents' appeal. The costs of the First and Second Respondents were reserved for later determination, with a provision for referral to a Registrar of the Court if the parties could not reach an agreement within seven days.